Video: Russell Okung says “I’m really close, really close”

Today’s practice marked the most work yet this camp for left tackle Russell Okung, who got on the field for some of the early positional drill work. He did not participate in team drills. Still, it marked another step on the road to getting back on the field for Okung, who had off-season surgery on the foot he injured in the second game of last season against the 49ers and that then held him out of eight games.

Afterward, he spoke to the media and said he feels he’ll soon be back playing.

“I’m really close, really close.” he said. “Just working in little by little, day by day, and hopefully we will see the finished product (soon).”

Okung added that he’s “feeling pretty good. It’s great to be back out here after a really long off-season, at least to me. Now that I’m on my path to recovery, I’m just very grateful to be back.”

The team had hoped Okung might be able to avoid a second surgery on the foot. But Okung said after consulting with the team and trainers that “we thought it was my best move going forward. We didn’t really want to struggle with it anymore. I’m just glad I’m back.”